KEARNEY — The University of Nebraska Medical Center will offer scholarships to the first class of medical students to study and train in Kearney, a key initiative aimed at strengthening access to health care in rural Nebraska.

The Health Science Education Center II will open to its first class of medical students in fall 2026, and for the first time, UNMC will educate future physicians in rural Nebraska.

The new scholarships will cover at least half the cost of medical school tuition for all four years for the first class of students in Kearney. The scholarships have been made possible by generous benefactors and the UNMC College of Medicine. No state money has been used to create the scholarships.

“Improving the health of people across Nebraska is a major goal of UNMC and the College of Medicine,” said Bradley Britigan, MD, dean of the UNMC College of Medicine and Stokes-Shackleford Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine. “We are excited about our first cohort of medical students beginning at Kearney later this year, which is one more example of that commitment. And we are pleased, with the help of other generous donors, to be able to offer this support.”

Currently, 66 of Nebraska’s 93 counties are designated as medically underserved areas. Studies have shown students may be more likely to choose to practice in smaller communities after graduation if they are trained in rural communities.

Robert Messbarger, MD, inaugural associate dean for the UNMC College of Medicine’s regional medical school campus in Kearney, said the scholarships are indicative of the support the UNMC College of Medicine has received since it announced plans to have medical students at Kearney.

“I am grateful to these benefactors, and the college, for this wonderful effort,” Dr. Messbarger said.

With additional private support, the UNMC College of Medicine would like to extend the scholarships to subsequent classes of UNMC medical students in Kearney. Matching funds are available to support the new scholarships.

“We hope to be able to provide even more financial aid and to be able to extend these scholarships to future classes,” Dr. Britigan said. “However, additional philanthropic support will be needed to do so.”

Donors who commit a scholarship gift of $50,000 or more will have their gift matched by one-third by the College of Medicine. For example, a gift of $75,000 would be matched by the College of Medicine, with an additional $25,000 for students studying in Kearney.

Scholarships are a priority of Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future, a historic effort to raise $3 billion from 150,000 unique benefactors to support the University of Nebraska.

Donors interested in learning more about the new scholarships may contact Brian Anderson, senior director of development for the College of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Foundation, at brian.anderson@nufoundation.org.

No. 16 Florida State (4-2) struggled mightily in its final game in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, falling to Nebraska 10-1 with only two hits.

Almost nothing went FSU’s way on Sunday as Link Jarrett received only one out from his starter, Payton Manca, the offense continued to sputter, and the defense lacked the savviness the head coach expects. Today was an example of what the worst version of Seminole baseball could look like this year: an unproven team that lacks high-end talent struggling against veteran rosters that punish mistakes.

The Noles immediately fell behind the eight-ball in the top of the first, as Payton Manca recorded only one out in his second start of the week while allowing three earned runs. After Chris Knier settled the game down with a 1-2-3 second, the Cornhuskers tacked on two more in the third, putting Florida State behind 5-0.

Jarrett’s team did not record a hit the first time through the lineup and had only one baserunner, Noah Sheffield, who was hit by a pitch. Myles Bailey finally put FSU in the hit column and on the board in the bottom of the fourth as he blasted his second home run of the year to left-center, but the homer did not provide the spark FSU hoped it would, as the HR was Florida State’s only extra-base hit of the game.

The only silver lining from Sunday’s finale in Texas was the season debut of Trey Beard. Beard fell ill last weekend and was scratched from his start. Jarrett said on Saturday he would be available in some capacity today, and the FAU transfer entered the game in the fourth. The lefty needed just eight pitches to retire Nebraska in order before posting a strikeout as part of a 1-2-3 top half of the fifth. Unfortunately, his outing came apart in the sixth as NU tagged him for three runs and chased him after 2 1/3 IP out of the bullpen, but his struggle may have come from fatigue. Beard provided enough positives to see why the coaching staff was so high on him, mainly his ability to use multiple secondary pitches, including the devastating changeup.

Trailing 8-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the top of the FSU lineup, Brayden Dowd, Sheffield, and Bailey each struck out as the awful day at the plate continued. Nebraska pushed out in front 10-1 in the seventh and locked the game down by allowing only one hit in the latter innings. Florida State fell 10-1 on Sunday and will have multiple questions to answer heading into a season-long nine-game homestand.

Nebraska baseball needed to reset quickly after having less than 24 hours to move past its 4-2 loss to Louisville. The Huskers battled against former Big 12 foe Kansas State, losing 5-3.

The Huskers grabbed a lead in the third inning thanks to a string of extra-base hits. Unfortunately for NU, the bullpen had its struggles with command allowing K-State to grab a late lead.

Here is an instant recap from the Huskers second loss of the weekend….

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Clutch two-out hitting benefits NU early

Carson Jasa was tasked with starting the game on the rubber for NU and performed well overall. Jasa set a dominant tone early, showcasing an elite fastball that sat between 96-98 mph throughout the opening frames. The sophomore right-hander paired his high-velocity heater with sharp slider command, using the breaking ball to freeze former Husker Robby Bolin for a called third strike to open the game.

K-State countered with Donte Lewis, who utilized a steady mix of a 91-93 mph fastball and a sweeping 81-83 mph slider. Lewis leaned heavily on his breaking ball, frequently targeting the back door against Nebraska’s left-handed hitters to disrupt their timing.

The Wildcats manufactured the game’s first run in the top half of the second inning to take a brief 1-0 lead. K-State utilized a small-ball approach to move the runner and eventually cross the plate on a situational groundout.

The Huskers finally broke through against Lewis in the bottom of the third inning to seize a 2-1 lead. After Mac Moyer sparked the rally with a one-out single, Case Sanderson and Joshua Overbeek delivered consecutive two-out doubles. Overbeek’s barrel drove in both Moyer and Sanderson, providing Jasa with his first lead of the night and shifting the momentum toward the Nebraska dugout.

Wildcats knot it up with big sixth inning

NU extended its lead to 3-1 after a botched double-play attempt by the Wildcats when the shortstop’s errant throw to first following the force at second allowed Jeter Worthley to hustle home. The defensive lapse and Lewis’s sudden inability to find the zone forced K-State to the bullpen, bringing in senior Carson Liggett to stabilize the game.

Jasa continued to overpower the Wildcats through the middle frames, racking up his seventh strikeout of the night in a clean fifth inning. However, the sophomore right-hander began to lose his fluidity in the sixth, appearing to guide his slider rather than throwing it with the conviction seen early on.

As he grew fatigued pitching coach Rob Childress opted to stick with Jasa to face the left-handed Shintaro Inoue. The decision proved costly as the next batter Carlos Vasquez hammered a hanging slider for a two-out, two-RBI single to tie the game, finally chasing Jasa in favor of J’Shawn Unger, who induced a massive strikeout to strand two.

Command collapse hands K-State the win

The pitching staff’s grip on the zone slipped away in the eighth as the relief appearances completely lost the zone. After Unger surrendered a leadoff single, the command issues became contagious when Grant Cleavinger and Kevin Mannell entered only to struggle with their location, issuing back-to-back walks that loaded the bases.

The lack of strikes allowed the K-State offense fire up as the free passes forced the Huskers into a defensive shell. The Wildcats took full advantage of the lack of control, using a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to turn a tie game into a two-run lead. The Husker pitching staff allowed 7 walks in total and struck out 9.

Chase Olson entered for NU and impressed with a clean inning. Unfortunately for NU, Liggett continued to dominate. Buettenback and Worthley flew out before Moyer ended the game on a pitch-clock violation to end a frustrating night at the plate for NU. Liggett finished with 4 1/3 innings pitched, 3 strikeouts and allowing only one hit

The Huskers will have a quick turnaround into Sunday. They will battle No. 16 Florida State at 2:30 p.m..

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